The Innovators 2026: Africa

Innovation has been driving the shift from traditional branch-based banking to a digital ecosystem, transforming financial services throughout Africa.

While about 60% of Africa’s population is unbanked, according to Invest Africa, smartphone sales on the continent account for about 7% of global sales, representing a unique opportunity for the financial sector. Despite slower rates of technology adoption, such as internet penetration, Africa is home to about half of the world’s mobile accounts and, according to the GSMA, accounted for more than 70% of the growth in registered accounts in 2023.

As a result, technology is leapfrogging legacy systems and moving directly to mobile, boosting digital payments.

“Real-time payments have had a significant impact, accelerating the shift away from cash,” said Bradley Shodries, Head of Payment Solutions at RMB. Cash carries risks such as loss and theft, as well as hidden costs, including the cost of traveling to withdraw physical cash. Digital payments have been a game-changer because they enable instant transactions that are reflected immediately.

AI and cybersecurity are becoming significant drivers of innovation for African banks. AI has improved efficiency across customer service functions, including virtual assistants and chatbots, fraud detection, and credit scoring and lending. As retail banking undergoes digital transformation, AI and its tools are key to reaching the unbanked.

Banks continue to prioritize omnichannel experiences that unify all channels, focusing on solutions that integrate online, mobile, and physical services, whether offered by the institution itself or by a partner organization. The result is seamless platforms, partnerships, and connectivity tools like APIs that help provide sustainable access to financial services.

RMB

As clients’ needs evolve beyond traditional banking, RMB has embraced a solution-focused, client-centric approach to help clients grow their businesses through tailored solutions. The South African bank has focused on optimizing its corporate transactional banking operations while transitioning from product-centric to cross-functional teams that aim to integrate discrete solutions into a seamless experience.

The modular nature of RMB’s solutions is its key differentiator, and its partnerships help scale the adoption of its services. Its API gateway is a single entry point that gives clients access to a range of capabilities. RMB innovates in areas where it believes it can become the partner of choice, supporting clients’ broad business needs.

“The ability to connect people with excess liquidity to those who need access to funds presents an additional opportunity for innovation,” said Bradley Shodries, head of Payments, Receipting, and Strategic Solutions. For this reason, the bank has focused on new platforms, such as a marketplace model that connects suppliers and consumers but operates within the financial market. The goal of this effort is to unlock economic value, transform financial ecosystems, and drive mutual growth for both the bank and the client. 

MNT-Halan

Egypt’s MNT-Halan has been reshaping lives by bringing financial services to the unbanked and underserved populations across the Middle East and North Africa.

By combining technology solutions with market expertise, the fintech has introduced multiple products and services that enable access to credit and assess a consumer’s ability to repay, bridging the gap between the informal economy and formal financial services. MNT-Halan introduced the Halan Card in 2023, and it has since been issued to more than 1 million users. Its super app offers buy-now, pay-later services and provides access to investments, including fund transfers.

By leveraging a scalable business model and partnering with global investors, including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Finance Corporation, MNT-Halan has disbursed over $15 billion across business and consumer loans, prepaid cards, e-wallets, investments, and e-commerce services, serving more than 2.5 million active users. MNT-Halan’s gross loan book exceeds $1.8 billion. Since 2024, its footprint has expanded to include Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Pakistan.

Commercial International Bank – Egypt | Self-Service Channel Manager – CIB Mobile Banking App

Commercial International Bank (CIB) continues to enhance the digital experience in its Mobile Banking app. The new user interface features a modern design, delivering a customer-centric journey that reflects the bank’s strategy to seamlessly connect its digital ecosystem across mobile, web, and self-service devices. Customers can now add their physical cards to Apple and Android digital wallets, schedule installment payments for eligible credit card transactions directly in the app via CIB’s Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services, allocate funds to savings accounts, and apply for various credit products or open an additional account in the app. The app also supports activating new debit and credit cards, freezing or unfreezing cards, and resetting PINs.

EFG Holding | Shop’IT

EFG recently revamped Shop’IT, the e-commerce marketplace on its Valu app, eliminating the need for users to switch between store websites and the app. The new offering includes exclusive in-app discounts and deals, as well as cashback rewards on purchases credited to the customer’s Valu Cashback Wallet. Consolidated discovery, payments in one place, end-to-end in-app checkout, and order tracking disrupt the existing online shopping experience. With these enhancements and by using data to personalize recommendations, Shop’IT has created a better user experience through simplified processes that improve convenience and build customer loyalty.

Egyptian Credit Bureau | Analytics Dashboard

As the country’s sole licensed credit bureau, iScore can consolidate and analyze data, transforming it into actionable market intelligence to support credit-related decision-making. This is exactly what the Analytics Dashboard does. With a visually interactive interface, it is powered by a comprehensive dataset that includes repayment behavior, utilization, delinquency status, customer demographics, creditworthiness indicators, and product information. Because the dashboard aggregates data across all financial institutions, subscribers can use it to measure market share by product category for secured and unsecured portfolios, to benchmark performance, and to analyze customer loyalty among exclusive customers versus those who conduct business with more than one institution.

MNT-Halan | AI Credit-Scoring Engine (Proprietary Alternative Data Model)

Many Egyptian consumers have thin files. Without bank accounts, credit cards, or other borrowing history, and without the updates and insights into consumer behavior they provide, traditional credit scores can’t accurately assess consumers’ creditworthiness. MNT-Halan’s AI Credit Scoring Engine uses real-time, multidimensional data to assess consumer behavior, bridging the gap between informal economic activity and formal financial services.

RMB | Advanced Verification and Authentication Solutions

Fragmented or incomplete information can slow decision-making. Last year, South Africa’s RMB collaborated with a leading partner in proprietary data and analytics to incorporate advanced authentication capabilities into its advanced verification and authentication solutions. These solutions can now address issues involving fraud, credit risk, regulatory compliance, and unreliable data through real-time integration of consumer and business intelligence. In addition to verification, the solutions support lending processes from origination to collections, including creditworthiness and adverse-findings indicators, affordability insights, and communications, helping companies operate more efficiently.

RMB | Employee Banking Value Proposition

To help clients retain their best staff, RMB offers its employee-banking value proposition, an integrated human capital optimization solution that strengthens management operations. The tool provides a cloud-based payroll system that ensures prompt, accurate payments and verification services and integrates with multiple payment methods. Employees of user companies also benefit from features for pension funds, housing finance, and other personal finance products. Directly linking payroll services to the payment process reduces complexity and delivers an integrated payment experience.